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Thursday, February 16, 2012

Alibaba Bypasses Negotiates in Yahoo Deal

First appeared in Associated Press

Alibaba Group and Japan's Softbank will go directly to
Yahoo's chief executive, bypassing negotiators from the U.S. Internet company,
after talks over the sale of Yahoo's Asian holdings broke down, a person
familiar with the negotiations said Wednesday.

The struggling Internet company has been in discussions to
sell its stakes in Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and
Yahoo Japan back to Alibaba and Yahoo Japan shareholder Softbank Corp.

But the person, who declined to be identified because the
talks are confidential, said that Softbank and Alibaba will go directly to
Yahoo Inc. CEO Scott Thompson for more clarity after talks broke down over the
terms. The person said Yahoo's negotiating team seemed to have different ideas
from the company's leaders.

"Softbank and Alibaba will be reaching out to Scott
Thompson to get clarity on what the heck is going on," said the person,
adding that the two Asian companies are still "very much in alignment."

The fate of Yahoo's Asian holdings remains in limbo after
negotiations abruptly broke off. It's the latest twist in the drama that has
been swirling around Yahoo since it fired Carol Bartz as CEO five months ago.

Yahoo wants to appease shareholders by selling its two most
valuable assets - the stakes in Alibaba and Yahoo Japan - to raise money for
dividends or possible acquisitions. But a complicated deal that would have
enabled Yahoo to escape taxes fell apart.

The person said the talks broke down over unreasonable terms
but wouldn't specify what that meant, except to say that it wasn't over price.

"The strategic leaders were saying: We want to unlock
some value here so we can free up some cash and focus on the core," said
the person of Yahoo's top management. "Based on the behavior of the most
recent negotiation session (in Hong Kong), it was clear that somebody else had
a different idea."

On Tuesday, another person familiar with the matter said
negotiations broke off in a disagreement over the sales price and the best way
to get the complex deal done. And a third person also familiar with talks said
Yahoo had second thoughts after agreeing to a price outlined in late December.

All Things D, a technology blog affiliated with The Wall
Street Journal, reported earlier that the talks had collapsed.

Analysts have differed on how much Yahoo could fetch from
selling its stakes, with estimates ranging from $11 billion to $18 billion.
Yahoo owns about 40 percent of Alibaba.

Adding to turmoil at Yahoo, a major shareholder outlined
plans Tuesday to wage a campaign to win a board seat for himself and three of
his allies. New York hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb said in a regulatory filing
that the company needs more directors with media experience and turnaround
know-how.